An embodiment of the present disclosure relates generally to a combined iron and steamer appliance, and more particularly, to a combined iron and steamer appliance wherein water for the steamer is fed by gravity and provides continuous steam generation.
Irons are known for pressing and removing wrinkles from fabric. However, certain delicate garments cannot be ironed because of the likelihood of damage. Steam irons are also used to contact a sole plate to a garment but apertures in the soleplate are used to transmit steam to the garment. However, to remove wrinkles from delicate garments or to generally avoid using a soleplate and/or ironing board, a steamer is typically used. The steamer is a device that emits steam toward the garment but does not typically directly contact the garment. More recently, irons and steamers have been combined into a single device for convenience of the user. Such combined iron/steamer devices require a motor and pump to transfer water from a water reservoir in the device to a steam chamber, where the water comes into contact with a heater to generate the steam. With the motor and pump, a high flow rate is achieved to provide a constant steam flow toward the garment.
At a minimum, the motor and pump of known combined iron/steamers present a significant cost increase to manufacturing of the combined steamer/iron device. However, without the motor and pump, pressure builds in the steam chamber as the water is turned into steam. The result is back pressure that slows the flow rate of the water or causes intermittent flow of the water into the steam chamber. Without a steady water flow rate, the user is left with periodic puffs of steam being emitted from the device rather than a constant stream.
It is desirable to provide a combined iron and steamer device that feeds water into the steam chamber via gravity thereby eliminating the motor and pump but that also provides a continuous flow of steam.